A multi-year agreement between Chinese carmaker BYD (002594.SZ) and ride-hailing company Uber (UBER.N) was unveiled on Wednesday with the goal of adding 100,000 additional electric vehicles to the platform worldwide.
According to the firms, the agreement will start in Europe and Latin America and will eventually extend to markets in the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It will provide drivers with accessible pricing and financing for BYD’s electric vehicles on the Uber platform.
Over the past two years, high sticker prices for electric cars and rising borrowing rates have functioned as roadblocks to EV adoption, slowing the rate of growth in demand for these vehicles.
Growing worries about climate change and the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have fueled a global movement for electrification in the transportation sector.
In an effort to encourage the switch to electric vehicles, Uber and BYD will, depending on the market, provide drivers with savings on car upkeep, charging, financing, and leasing.
“When an Uber driver makes the switch to an EV, they can deliver up to four times the emissions benefits compared to a regular motorist, simply because they are on the road more,” Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber,
The firms further stated that they will collaborate to incorporate BYD’s autonomous car technologies onto the ride-hailing platform.
Rival BYD in the US, Tesla (TSLA.O), plans to launch its robotaxi vehicle in October as part of a shift following a decline in EV sales in the first two quarters of the year.
Last year, BYD overtook Tesla as the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles worldwide; but, Elon Musk’s company has since reclaimed the top rank.
In order to reach its 2030 goal of becoming emission-free in all U.S. and Canadian cities, Uber said in January that it was collaborating with Tesla to encourage the usage of EVs by its drivers across the country.
